Cautious parents often attempt to keep prescription and over-the-counter medications out of the reach of children, e.g., locked in a cabinet or placed in a suitable location to prevent access. Each year, however, children gain unauthorized access to medications, sometimes resulting in tragedy. Medications are sold in many forms, such as tablets, pills, liquids, gels, and powders. Existing child-proof or child-resistant mechanisms include specially-designed twist-off bottle caps for liquid medications and pill bottle tops requiring a combination of squeezing and turning to remove the cap, among others.
Federal anti-tamper laws were imposed after an incident in 1982 where potassium cyanide-laced analgesics led to the death of seven people in Chicago. Since then, some medication packages include one or more components that are configured to alert the consumer if the package has been tampered with. Examples of tamper-evident packaging include ‘blister packs,’ induction seals, and cap-rings, among others, which can indicate to the consumer that the package may have been compromised or contaminated.